Can sterilizing and drying apparatus



T. L. VALERIUS.

CAN STERILIZING AND DRYI NG APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED OCT-8. I91

1,4=30,201. Patentedfiepf- 26, 1922.

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CAN STERILIZING AND DRYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT-8. T917.

Patented Sept. 26, 1922..

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Patented ept. 26, 1922.

THEODORE L. VALERIUS, OF FORT ATKINSON, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO THE CREAMERY PACKAGE MFG. COMPAN TION OF ILLINOIS.

Y, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORA- CAN STERILIZING AND DRYING APPARATUS.

Application filed October 8, 1917. Serial No. 195,475.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, THEODORE L. VALERIUS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fort Atkinson. in the county of Jefferson and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can sterilizing and Drying Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to a sterilizing and drying apparatus for milk cans and the like, of the type in which the cans are successivel subjected to the action of a sterilizin me ium and a drying medium; and the ob ect of the invention is to provide a combined sterilizing and drying apparatus of simple and compact construction which is economical in operation and otherwise practical and efiicient.

The object of the invention thus generally stated is attained by the construction and arrangement illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming part hereof in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of the apparatus; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken in the plane of line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a fragmental detailed view on an enlarged scale taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but taken on line'55 of Fig. 1.

Briefly, the apparatus comprises a chamber 1 having an air inlet 2 and one or more air outlet openings 3; a circular table or carrier 4 rotatably mounted on the chamber 1 and provided with a plurality of nozzles 5 and a can-holding frame 6; a steam coil 7 in the the air inlet 2 for forcing air under pressurev chamber 1 having an inlet pipe 8 and an outlet pipe 9; a condensation well 10 connected to the coil outlet 9; a plurality of air discharge pipes 11 and a plurality of sterilizer discharge pipes 12 connected to the chamber 1 and the condensation well 10, respectively, and adapted to successively discharge into the nozzles 5 in the table 4. as the same is rotated; and a blower 13 connected to through the chamber 1. The air entering the chamber and striking the coils at the bottom thereof causes a condensation of steam which passes into the condensation well. From said well the water is intermittently forced out by steam pressure,

through the discharge pipes 12 and nozzles '5, as they are moved into positionto register table to another position, the air escaping I from the discharge pipes 11, having been heated by the steam coil 7, enters the cans, ttirough the registering nozzles5, to dry tiem. a

Referring to Fig. 2: The chamber 1 is preferably made rectangular in form with side walls 14 and top and bottom walls 15 and 16 provided with internal flanges 17 formin grooves for receiving the side walls, the wa ls of the chamber being secured in position by means of tie-rods 18. The side walls contain suitable insulating material 19; and the inner sides of the top and bottom walls are provided with insulation 20. The chamber thus formed is supported by suitable legs 21. i

Near the bottom of the chamber 1 the rear wall is provided at one corner of the chamberv with the air inlet opening 2 and near the top of the chamber at the diagonally opposite corner of the chamber are one or more 3) and provided with an upwardly extend v mg peripheral flange or lip 22 to form adrip-pan 23. It thus forms a circular support for the table/1. A drain pipe 23 (Fig. 3) leads from the rear edge of said pan and discharges into a suitable drain (not shown).

The table or circular carrier 4 is rotatably mounted upon the chamber and for this purpose a bearing stud 24 is provided at the center of the top wall 15 and the table 1s provided at its center with a similar bearing stud 25, said studs having a shaft 26 extending therethrough and a thrust collar 27 therebetween on the shaft. Near its outer edge the table is provided with an upwardly inclined portion or ledge 28 and said 1nclinedledge is provided at regular intervals throughout its length with openings 29 extending through an annular thickened portion forming a slide 30, the lower flat surface of said slide resting slidably upon the peripheral flange 22 on the chamber top or drip an. The table 1s thus supported at its perip ery as well as at its center, and hence constitutes an extremely stable support for plurality of ribs'31 the cans. On its upper surface said ledge 28 is provided around the openings 29 with a and 32 extending radiand circumferentially of the table. and adapted to support the cans to permit unrestricted drainage therefrom; and at the inner edge of said inclined portion Is an annular flange 33 forming a stop against which the inner edges of the cans supported on the table are adapted to bear. To permit the water to drain from the table to the drip pan below, a plurality of openings 34 are provided immediately adjacent the flange 33 and substantially midway between the radial ribs 31. Preferably the opposite sides of the table are provided with a plurality of'radial reinforcing ribs 35.

The nozzles 5 are formed from short pipe sections which are suitably secured in the openings 29 in the table with-their lower ends flush with the lower surface of the annular slide 30 and their upper ends extending a short distance above the table. Preferably each pair of adjacent nozzles 5 and 5 are adapted for use in connection vwith a can and its cover respectively, the \can nozzle being made (somewhat longer than the cover nozzle.

lllhe can holding frame 6'is supported a short distance above the table-4 by means of aplurality of supporting rods 36 to the upper and lower ends of which the frame ally I and table are suitably secured. Said frame is circular in form, of somewhat smaller diameter than the table and is cut away at regular intervals throughout its periphery corresponding to the interval between the 3 I, alternate or can nozzles, to form semi-circular sockets or seats 37 (Fig. 1) to receive the cans supported upon the table.

The table .4 and the holding frame 6 are adapted to be rotated manually by means of a plurality of handles 38 provided at regular intervals in the frame between the sockets 37, said handles being secured in position in any preferred manner, as by means of a screw-threaded stem 39 at their inner ends entered into the threaded opening of a lug 40; and it will be evident that as the cans are moved in the rotation of the table they are su ported against the action of centrif ugal 'orce by the inclined portion of the table and are held against lateral movement thereon by means of the frame 6.

The steam coil 7 in the chamber 1 consists of a plurality of horizontal layers of pipe coils each connected to an adjacent coil at its opposite ends to form a continuous steam passage, and a pair of baffle plates 41 are preferably provided in the chamber to cause the air passing upwardly therethrough to travel in a zig -zag path in order that it will become more thoroughly heated. Said ballie plates are suitably secured to opposite walls of the chamber and extend between upward plates being respectively secured to the walls adjacent the air inlet and outlet openings 2 and 3. The steam inlet pipe 8 (Fig. 3) of the coil 7 enters the upper rear end of the chamber, and the outlet pipe 9 leads out wardly from the lower forward end thereof.

The condensation well 10 (Fig. 2) is in the form of a small cylindrical chamber having a threaded opening in one side near the upper end thereof into which is entered a pipe 42 which communicates throu h a p p 43 with the outlet 9 of the coil. Extending 1 from a point near the bottom of said well through the top thereof is a pipe 44 which is connected to a suitable valve 45, said valve being connected by means of a pair of pipes 46 to'the sterilizer discharge pipes 12. The upper ends of the pipes 12 (two of said pipes beingshown herein) extend a short distance upwardly through the drip pan 23 at one side of the chamber to form jets and are spaced apart (Fig. 3) a distance equal tothe distance between the nozzles 5 carried by the table 4. The pipe connections thus described serve to support the condensation well at one side of the chamber with the inlet opening in its upper end in the same horizontal plane as the outlet 9 of the coil 7. The well may be provided at'its lower end with a drain cock 10.

The means for operating the valve 45 preferably consists of a bracket 47. a lever 48, a

secured to a valve operating rod .52. The

treadle 50 is pivoted on a bearing stud 53 secured to one edge of the bottom wall 16 of the chamber 1.

The air discharge pipes 11 leading upwardly from the upper end of the chamber 1 are preferably three in number and extend upwardly through openings 54 provided in the drip pan 23, which openings are substantially diametrically opposite the discharge pipes 12 and are adapted to register with the nozzles 5 as the latter pass thereover in the rotation of the table. At the edge of the drip pan where the openings 54 extend therethrough is provided an arcuate thickened portion or slideway 55 having a flat upper surface flush with the upper edge of the peripheral flange 22. Thus the openings 54 are closed against the escape of air, except when the nozzles 5 are in registry therewith, by the flat under surface of the annular slide 30 of the table 4 slidably engaging with the flat upper surface of the arouate slideway 55 of the drip pan.

The blower 13, which may be of any suitable or well known type, is mounted at the rear side of the chamber 1 upon a suitable link 49'and a treadle 50. The lever 48 is fulcrumed on the bracket 47 mounted table 56 which may be formed by extending the bottom wall 160i the chamber rearwardly and said blower is connected by means of a pipe 57 to the air 2 in the chamber.

In the operation of the apparatus steam is admitted into the coil 7 and at the same time the blower 13 is operated to force a current of air upwardly through the chamher 1 around the heating coil, more or less of the steam entering the coil being condensed as it comes into contact with the cool pipes and the water of condensation passing into the condensation well 10. The table 4 is then rotated to bring the discharge nozzles 5 into register with the sterilizer discharge pipes 12, whereupon the treadle is depressed by the operator and a quantity of hot water of condensation is forced under steam ported on the table, to sterilize them. A continued rotation of the table moves the cans to the opposite side of the apparatus and when the nozzles 5 are in register with the pipes 11 heated air is dischargedinto the cans to dry them. While said cans are thus being dried, other cans placed upon the table are being sterilized, so that the operation of the apparatus becomes continuous.

In the continued operation of the apparatus, more or less of the steam in the lower portion of the coil 7 becomes condensed by the cool air entering the bottom portion of the chamber. The rotation of the table being intermittent, while the blower runs continuously, the steam is condensed at such rate as to provide a sufficient amount of water of condensation for the sterilizing operation, there being usually no escape of steam from tLe pipes 12.

I claim as my invention:

inlet opening 1. An apparatus of the class described having in combination, an inclosed air chamber having an inlet and an outlet, a steam heatingcoil in said chamber having external inlet and outlet connections, a laterally extended top wall for said chamber having a central pivot-bearing and an upstanding peripheral bearing flange concentric therewith, a carrier table rotatably supported on said pivot bearing and said bearing flan e, a concentric series of spaced vertical nozz es carried by said table and opening downwardly wlthin said bearing flange, a valve controlled discharge pipe connected with 1 said steam coil outlet and extending upwardly through said top beneath the path of said nozzles, and an oppositely positioned discharge pipe connected with said air I chamber outlet also extending through said top beneath the path of said nozzles.

2. An apparatus of the class described having in combination, an air heating chamher having an inlet and an outlet, a top pressure into the cans sup-' standing flange;-

ble provided witha peripheral annular porthe combination of an air wall forsaid chamberhaving aperipheral flange extending upwardly to form a pan, a carrier table pivoted on said top wall and arranged to rotate thereover, a concentric series of spaced vertical nozzles mounted in said table with their lower ends over said pan, said table having an inwardly inclined peripheral portion with openings therethrough positioned above said pan, a steam coil in said chamber having a supply inlet and a discharge outlet, said outlet being arranged to drain condensation water from said coil, a receptacle connected to said outlet adapted to receive and store said condensation water, an upwardly directed discharge pipe opening beneath the path of said nozzles, a valved connection between said receptacle and said discharge pipe whereby condensationwater and steam may be ejected through said discharge pipe and a registering nozzle upon a container positioned thereover, andv a hot air conduit leading from said chamber outlet having an up- 'wardly directed opening beneath the path of said nozzles.

3. An apparatus of the character describedhaving, in combination, a stationary circular supporting member substantially fiat and havingan annular peripheral upa rotary can-supporting ta.-

tion having a continuous sliding contact with said flange, a series of discharge nozzles carried --by said table and inwardly spaced from the periphery thereof, valvecontrolled means for supplying a sterlizing medium to said nozzles in the rotation of the table, said means including a pipe extending upwardly through the supporting member at one side thereof, and means for supplying a drying medium to said nozzle including a second pipe located substant-ioned pipe, said supporting member having an enlargement into which said second pi e extends and adapted to cooperate with said annular portion of the table to control the discharge of the drying medium from said second pipe.

4. In an apparatus of the class described, chamber having steam heating top wall for an inlet and an outlet, a coil within the chamber a said chamber having an annular peripheral flange on its upper side, a carrier table pivtially diametrically opposite the first menoted on said top concentrically with said flange and having an annular under portion partially in sliding contact with said flange, a plurality of upwardly directed nozz es carried by said table having their lower ends opening downwardly through said annular portion within said flange and spaced from said top wall, said flange having an inward- 1y enlarged portion wholly engagin thereat theannular under portion of the ta 1e, said and a discharge pipe enlarged portion being provided; with a port controlled by said under portion of the table and registerable with said nozzle openings, a discharge pipe connected with said steam coil and positioned in said top wall suitably to direct a jet through said nozzles, leading from said air chamber outlet and terminating in said port to direct hot air through said nozzles.

5. An apparatus of the character described.

having, in combination, a chamber having an inletand an outlet, a steam coil in said chamber, a rotary table above said chamber having an annular can-supporting ledge at iasoaoi my hand. THEODORE L, VALERIUS. 

